Calling of the Blood
by Karrah Aretz
Summary: "If I was in charge of Val, she'd have purple hair right now"


Calling of the Blood  
by Maureen  
  
***  
  
8th grade:  
  
Totally, V!!" Catie Roth exclaimed to her best friend, V.   
  
V, short for Valerie, shook her purple head emphatically. "No way. You can not play The Decline over The Wall and get the same results as Dark Side of the Moon and the Wizard of Oz!"  
  
"I say we find out this weekend then. I'll get the movies, you get the CDs, we'll do it at my house." Catie told her, her eyes gleaming. She loved a challenge and was sure she was right.  
  
"Fine. Can you believe the summer is almost here?" V asked, changing the subject.   
  
"Barely," Catie replied, fixing the leather cuff on her wrist. "I can't wait to go to high school, get away from these shallow dweebs."  
  
"I know. They hate us just because we're smart and think for ourselves. High school will be so much better." V stood up, fixing her black miniskirt as she did, her torn fishnet stockings disappearing into her knee high doc martins. "Wanna soda?"  
  
"Sure," Catie replied, "So what're you doing this summer?"  
  
"Summer camp." V told her grimacing, coming back with two cold cans of Dr. Pepper, "My mom's making me."  
  
"That sucks. Well, I'll see you on the weekends right?"  
  
"No. It's for a month, in North Carolina, and then I have a family vacation. I'll be back about two weeks before high school starts."  
  
"This sucks hardcore, I'm going to visit my grandmother for a week and a half then."  
  
"So we won't see each other then." A statement, not a question.   
  
"Guess not. But it'll be cool, I mean, you can learn camp songs and I can catch up on my Springer." If sarcasm were tangible it would be Caitlin Roth.  
  
"Yeah," V replied dully. She didn't want to go.  
  
"But we're blood sisters, we'll survive."  
  
"Right, blood sisters." V and Catie embraced, not really wanting to leave the other. They were sisters.   
  
***  
Summer Camp  
  
"Valerie Linear?" the camp counselor with the clipboard asked.   
  
"Yeah?" she asked, smacking on her bubble gum as if it were cud. She stood there defiantly in her black tank top and baggy pants, long purple hair in her face.   
  
"You're in cabin 16, if you climb on the trailer over there you can get a ride there. Your trunk is waiting for you."  
  
"Whatever." She replied, heading to the trailer.   
  
At the cabin two more camp counselors greeted her while about 10 more girls looks on. "Hi! I'm Shelly!" the first counselor said, she was probably 19 or so and had long brown hair. "And you are?"  
  
"Valerie. Call me V."  
  
"Right! Well, V, you have the bottom bunk for now, but in two weeks we'll all switch so don't worry."  
  
"Whatever." She threw her backpack on the bed and opened her trunk, pulling out the clothes her mother had forced her to bring.   
  
"I'm Krista!" the other counselor said, this one had her blonde hair in a ponytail. "Want me to help you unpack?"  
  
"Whatever," V replied, wishing Catie was here with her, at least then she'd have a partner in crime. Everyone in the cabin had just stared at her, their polo shirts and pressed khakis not even mussed in the sum heat. And could the counselors get so perky?  
  
***  
  
A month later:  
  
"We are the girls from cabin 16, we'll beat everyone fair and clean! We rocked the house all night long, and now that we're done we're singing our song!" the girls chanted and danced their cabin theme at the closing ceremonies as did every cabin at the camp. They went through every girl in the cabin, introducing and telling a little about them.   
  
Finally it was V's turn. "Our Goth was V, super-freaky, but now she's Val our cheerleading pal! She can dance, she has spirit, so let's hear it!" Val was front and center on the stage, her purple hair faded and blonde roots showing. She wore khaki shorts and a "cheerleading is life" shirt a friend had loaned her.   
"Oh, I'm going to miss you guys!" Val exclaimed, hugging her cabin mates before she left to fly back home.   
  
"Write us, okay?" Shelly said, giving her a print out of everyone names and addresses.   
  
"Of course."  
  
***  
  
9th grade:  
  
Val woke up extra early, partially from nerves and partially from excitement. She stood in her bathroom with the bleach in hand. Slowly she began to paint her hair with it, returning her hair to its natural color. After she finished she washed her face, adding a touch of blush and some lip gloss, but ignoring the purple eye shadow, black lipstick, eyeliner or mascara. Not too shabby.   
  
Val walked into school wearing a new outfit. Gone were her ripped jeans and offensive t-shirts, now she wore fitted jeans sans holes with a light green sweater set. She found her first class with a minimum of hassle despite the new school and took a seat in the second row.   
  
Catie walked in a few minutes later, completely ignoring Val and slouched in the back row. When the bell rang the teacher began to call role, "Linear, Valerie?" she called.   
  
"Here!" Val replied, raising her hand, "its Val." She couldn't see it, but Catie's eyes nearly fell out of her head as she realized the preppy blonde was her friend.   
  
Later at lunch, Catie saw her surrounded by the cheerleaders, talking animatedly. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked coolly, earning herself glares from the cheerleaders.  
  
"Go away, loser!" one of them told her.   
  
"Bite me." Catie replied without looking at her. She continued to look at Val expectantly.  
  
"It's cool," Val replied, following Catie outside. "Hey Catie."  
  
"'Hey Catie'!? Hi V! Oh, wait, that's not your name anymore is it, Val?" Catie snarled, wondering what had happened to her friend. "What the hell happened to you?"  
  
"Look, I wanted to try something new. And I like it," Val responded, defensively. She wasn't going to feel sorry for not asking Catie's permission! She didn't need her best friend to approve of her life.   
  
"And so you're ditching me for the jocks?" Catie spat the words, furious. How could her best friend go to freakin' summer camp and come back a prep!  
  
"No! I want to be a cheerleader, but I still want to be friends too."  
  
"Well, I don't know if I can do that!" she responded, stalking away towards the bleachers. "So much for 'best friends'!" she called over her shoulder.   
  
"I thought we were blood sisters though," Val said softly at her friends retreating back.   
  
A/n: if you play Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon with the Wizard of Oz on mute you have an entirely new movie! You can do the same with NOFX's The Decline with Pink Floyd's The Wall (it's a movie) on mute. I've never tried the Wizard of Oz one but I have done the NOFX/The Wall movie. It does really work.   
  
This was my take on the Val/Catie prep/goth relationship, sorry it's short but hey. This was inspired by Catie telling Tyler that if she were in charge of Val, she'd have purple hair.   
  
Tyler: Can't you control her or something?  
Catie: If I was in charge of Val, she'd have purple hair right now.  



End file.
